


Distance

by SoDoRoses (FairyChess)



Series: LAOFT Extras [35]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: I know teagan's not the agreed on fandom name for the teacher character BUT i do what i want, Implied Sexual Content, Long Distance Relationship, M/M, apologies to the people of boston logan just hates cities, implied/referenced polyamphobia, its not boston's fault, this is just REALLY goddamn soft tbh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-23
Updated: 2019-07-23
Packaged: 2020-07-12 04:37:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,293
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19940332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FairyChess/pseuds/SoDoRoses
Summary: “Bring me the night, tell me it’s near-Give me the chance to pretend that you’re here…”- Bring Me The Night, Sam Tsui & Kina Grannis





	Distance

**Author's Note:**

> from the prompt from a (number of) nonnie on tumblr:
> 
> "Does Logan ever go to college?"
> 
> he does! and its REAL sweet
> 
> thanks to [ violetblossem ](violetblossem.tumblr.com) on tumblr for suggesting Logan's college and major, both of which were perfect, and to [ radioactivehelena ](radioactivehelena.tumblr.com) also on tumblr for Thomas's college. 
> 
> i listened to [ this song ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ihOCgdarFg) on repeat for like four hours while writing this

“ _How_ do you do this?”

“I am naturally suited to the care-taking of plants,” said Logan absently.

“There’s nothing _natural_ about it!” exclaimed Teagan, which made Logan momentarily tense up.

“Calm down, Tee,” deadpanned Andy, rolling his eyes at them, “Just because you’re jealous Logan brought your poor defenseless succulent back to life doesn’t mean you have to accuse him of black magic,”

“I didn’t bring it back to life,” said Logan, “It was still alive when I acquired it,”

Barely, but it had been. And Logan _hadn’t_ actually done much of anything – Teagan had given him the plant out of frustration, on the edge of rotting, on the (most likely sarcastic) grounds that Logan, as an Environmental Science major, should be capable of resurrecting it. In a week it had been flourishing even though Logan had paid the barest amount of attention to it.

And even though Logan hadn’t really… _meant_ to, he’d found that – having greenery in his room was rather pleasant, and he’d made an offhand comment about the cactus at a Bridge meeting, and now people were near constantly bringing him ailing plants to nurse back to health. His dorm looked like a greenhouse.

This was actually the first time Teagan and Andy had been in his dorm (a single, because statistically any roommate he had was going to eventually figure out that there was _something_ strange about Logan, and nobody was interested in seeing the results of that) and he supposed that it would look rather… alarmingly overgrown, to a fresh eye.

“Oh, that’s a sweet picture,” said Andy, leaning down and looking at one of the framed photos on Logan’s desk, “That’s Thomas, obviously, are these your parents?”

“Yes,” said Logan, opening the second drawer to locate the note pad they’d done their initial brainstorming on.

None of them were… art people, really, the closest being Andy, who was a Classics major. Teagan was, shockingly, even _less_ competent at art than Logan was, and viewed anything that couldn’t be broken down into a mathematical equation with deep suspicion.

So when the tree of them, already having known each other from the campus’s LGBTQ+ club, Bridge, found they were in the same general education art class, it made sense to form… something of a group.

Logan retrieved the notepad – which he would have simply taken with him this morning, if either one of them had deigned to inform him they intended to meet for this particular project – and gestured back towards the door.

Andy didn’t react, looking a little closer at the second frame on the desk.

“Who are these guys?”

Logan hesitated.

“Damn,” said Teagan, looking at the photograph for themself, “Those are some pretty boys,”

“Please don’t-” Logan blurted instantly, “Don’t- um,”

Teagan turned, raising their eyebrows.

“What?”

Logan glanced at the picture.

Thomas had taken it – it was of the four of them, Logan and his partners. 

Logan, Virgil, and Roman were sitting in the bench swing on Patton’s porch, with Patton laying across their laps. Logan was in the middle, his head tilted back and his eyes closed; Roman had an arm laid across Logan’s back and was smiling at someone out of the frame.

Virgil was looking down at Patton, his grin visible but his eyes obscured by his falling hair, which had been why Logan had chosen that particular photograph for display in his room – on the off chance he had a guest, purple eyes were a bit difficult to explain when you couldn’t lie.

It was a decision he was glad he’d made at the moment.

“They are…”

Both of them waited.

“Yeah?” said Andy, when the silence stretched a bit longer.

“They are my partners,” said Logan, looking away, “… Romantically, that is,”

“Oh, sweet,” said Teagan, and Logan startled a bit at the total lack of surprise or confusion, “Sorry, won’t make anymore super thirsty comments about your boyfriends,”

“Which one’s which?” asked Andy.

“I- um,”

Neither of them prompted him this time, even when he was silent for nearly ten seconds.

“The- the blonde, with curly hair? That’s Patton. And the dark-haired is Virgil, and the brunet is Roman,”

“And they’re all from your hometown?” asked Andy.

“I- yes,” said Logan, who was beginning to feel very out-of-step with this conversation.

“That’s way too cute, I hope you know that,” said Teagan, “A picture of your high school sweethearts in your dorm room?”

“You’re not-?”

Teagan raised their eyebrows curiously.

“Not what?”

Logan shifted, awkward.

“It is… a rather non-standard relationship model,” he said quietly.

Andy scoffed.

“Trust me, we’re good,” he said.

“Fuck toxic monogamy culture,” said Teagan with a small, perfunctory fist bump.

“Jesus, dude,” said Andy suddenly, “Is that why it’s more than halfway to midterms and you haven’t said _anything_ about them to us? You thought we’d freak out?”

Logan winced.

“We met your brother and hung out with him all day, and you haven’t even mentioned you weren’t single,” said Teagan. They sounded just a little hurt.

Thomas and Logan sent every other weekend together – the second time, Logan had gone to him, taking the three hour drive to Emerson in Boston (a city which Logan had immediately decided he _loathed_ with particular intensity), but the first Thomas had come up to Waterville, and the _very_ first thing he’d done was inspect Logan’s… new friends like particularly consternating petri dishes.

Logan tried not to feel like he’d done something wrong – he had, statistically, several very good reasons to be tight-lipped about his romantic entanglement.

“I have been met with a number of… incredibly negative responses,”

“Fuck them,” said Andy bluntly. “Talk about your boyfriends all you want. If anyone talks shit I’ll punch them,”

“Me too!”

“No, you won’t, Tee,”

“Aw,”

“That is not necessary,” said Logan, “But… appreciated, I suppose,”

Andy smiled, jerking his head back toward the common area of the dorm.

“Come on, let’s go see if between the three of us we can pretend we understand anything about art,”

As they left, Logan took a moment to look at the picture frame.

He turned it, just slightly, so it was visible as one entered the room. He smiled faintly, and followed them out.

* * *

When Logan returned to his dorm later in the evening, the handheld mirror on his bedside table was faintly shimmering.

Logan quickly shed his bag and sat on the bed, reaching for it and already smiling when he spoke -

“Show me Virgil,”

\- and Logan’s reflection wavered, and melted, and there he was.

“Hey, L,” Virgil said softly.

“Hello, Lo!” said Patton brightly, popping his head up just under Virgil’s face.

“Hey, Specs; you look happy to see us,” teased Roman, hooking his chin over Virgil’s shoulder.

“I am,” said Logan, which was soppy and ridiculous, but true – and, more importantly, made Roman flush and let out a short giggle, glancing away.

“How were you today?” he prompted.

Roman groaned theatrically.

“ _Very_ glad I took a gap year,” he said, “If I had to deal with all of this less than six months after the _fiasco_ I probably would have had a breakdown,”

“I am sure you are doing well,”

“Thank you,” said Roman, “And the commute was especially irritating today, I came out in Athens,”

Logan winced.

“I am getting better at it, though,” said Roman, “Especially if I aim for Parkersburg, because it’s a little bigger than Marietta,”

“Mrs. Coughenour must be proud,”

Roman had, technically, lied to the admissions office of Marietta College. Well, not _lied_ , exactly, but – students were required to live on campus, unless they lived with a parent or guardian within thirty-five miles of the school.

Wickhills _had_ been within thirty-five miles of Marietta when Roman had completed the permission form – the trouble was, it didn’t always _stay_ that way.

As such, Roman’s commute to the school could be anywhere from twenty minutes to an hour, depending on just how unlucky he was that day.

No one had been willing to point out the inefficiency – other than Ms. Gage, which had resulted in… something of a screaming match, but for the first time in Logan’s memory, it was an argument between them that Roman had won.

“And you, Patton?”

Patton grinned.

“I got hired at the ice cream shop!”

Logan felt his face pull up into a gentle grin.

“Will you be driving the truck?” he asked.

Patton wiggled happily and Logan’s smile stretched wider without any input from his brain.

“I don’t know yet, but I really hope so,” said Patton, “Gosh can you imagine? Just drive around and give kids ice cream all day? Be nice to be _excited_ to go to work,”

“You would be _selling_ ice cream,” said Logan pointedly. Patton either didn’t hear him or was willfully ignoring him, neither of which Logan would be surprised by.

“Virgil?”

Virgil shrugged.

“Didn’t do very much. Went for a walk with Dizzy, burn off some of her nervous energy – you know she gets antsy while Roman’s at school. _Oma_ caught her terrorizing the chickens,”

Logan snorted.

“The chickens started it,” grumbled Roman.

“You weren’t there,” laughed Virgil.

“If she says they started it I believe her,” came the imperious reply.

“How about your day, sweetie?” said Patton.

Logan leaned his shoulder back against the wall, readjusting to get more comfortable.

“I- came out, I suppose, in a manner of speaking,” he said, a little nervously, “Andy and Teagan saw the photograph of us on the desk and- there was really no way around it,”

“How did it go?” said Roman warily.

Logan leaned his head back then.

“Quite well,” he said, “Andy offered defense of our relationship in the form of violence. Teagan did also, but they are hardly suited towards physical altercations,”

“Teagan’s the one with blue hair right?” said Patton.

“Yes,” said Logan, “And glasses,”

“Oh, the tiny one in your photos?” said Roman dubiously, “They look like they can barely lift their textbooks, I’d pay _money_ to see them throw a punch,”

“Roman, no need to pick,” said Patton, but his voice had little true reprimand in it and he was still smiling.

“I’m not picking, I’m observing,” said Roman, grinning, “And who knows, maybe they _can_ throw a punch, looks can be deceiving,”

“They can not throw a punch,” said Logan dryly, “I assure you,”

Roman snorted, and Patton’s smile hadn’t budged, and Virgil’s gaze was flicking between the two of them and Logan in the mirror like he couldn’t possibly think of a better place to be at the moment. Words bubbled up in Logan’s throat before he could stop them, and he didn’t think he would have even if he could.

“I love you,” he blurted.

They all startled a bit. Their smiles softened.

“And I miss you,” he continued, his voice just a little thick.

“Oh, sweetheart,” said Patton, “I miss you, too,”

Virgil and Roman made soft noises of agreement, and Roman went so far as to press his hand to the surface of the mirror. The lump in Logan’s throat grew slightly as he did the same.

Pointlessly, because they could not really feel each other through the glass, Logan matched up their fingertips. Roman’s smile stretched wider, from soft to delighted.

“God, I want to kiss you,” he muttered.

Logan gave a short burst of laughter.

“I mean it,” said Roman, pouting slightly.

“I know,” said Logan, “The feeling is mutual, I assure you,”

Roman made a mockingly scandalized noise, and Patton giggled.

“How shocking, Mr. Sanders,” Roman said, “Next you’ll be asking me what I’m wearing,”

Patton laughed outright at that, and Logan couldn’t help but echo him.

“I don’t get it?”

The laughter cut off.

Virgil had a confused expression on his face. Logan suddenly felt distinctly embarrassed.

“Oh, I have made a mistake,” mumbled Roman, obviously mortified.

Patton cleared his throat a little awkwardly, tugging on Virgil’s collar until he leaned down. He said something, quiet, and bright red the whole time.

Virgil tilted his head to listen, and didn’t say anything for a long moment.

Then he looked at Logan through the glass, his expression considering, and Logan’s breath caught in his chest.

“Would you like that?” Virgil asked.

Logan made a truly humiliating squeaking noise.

“Logan? Would you like that, love?” Virgil asked again, his voice significantly lower, and Logan shivered.

He found he’d lost most of his ability to produce speech, instead nodding rapidly, and then an entirely different sort of conversation happened about which Logan had absolutely _zero_ complaints.

Later, when Logan was laying on his side, feeling drowsy and so in love he wondered if it wasn’t a beacon anyone would be able to see glowing through his window, Logan looked fondly into the mirror propped up across from him.

“You need to sleep,” said Patton quietly, “You have class in the morning,”

“So do you, and so does Roman,” said Logan with just a touch of petulance in his voice.

“Mine are online, you know that. I can do them whenever,” said Patton, “And Roman’s already two-thirds asleep,”

“Nope,” said Virgil, even quieter on the other side of Patton, “He’s all asleep. Out like a snuffed candle,”

“See?”

“… I don’t want you to go,” Logan admitted, his voice so subdued he wasn’t even sure if they would be able to hear him.

“Okay,” said Patton, “We’ll leave it open, then, stay til you fall asleep. Is that alright?”

“… I- yes,” he said, “That would be… very satisfactory,”

It was still hard to shut his eyes, but then Patton started humming faintly, and Virgil’s voice joined him in a duet that was clearly unrehearsed and yet somehow perfectly in sync.

Logan eyes slipped closed, and when he dreamed, the song stayed.

**Author's Note:**

> Not super relevant to the plot, so I put it down here, but if you’re wondering what I eventually settled on for everybody’s schooling it was
> 
> Logan: Colby College for Environmental Science
> 
> Roman: Marietta College for English, with a minor in Theater and TEFL certificate
> 
> Thomas: Emerson for Theater and Performance
> 
> Patton: Going to Ashland College online, getting a General Studies Associate’s degree (he hasn’t quite decided what he wants to do yet)
> 
> i am also [ tulipscomeinallsortsofcolors ](tulipscominallsortsofcolors.tumblr.com) over on tumblr!


End file.
